Helping Hands
by Krinos
Summary: In which Umi and Kotori try to help each other with their love lives, and nothing really goes as planned but everyone turns out happy anyway.
**Wednesday**

* * *

In Umi's opinion, there were exactly three factors that made up a perfect sunny day: the temperature of the air, the feel of the wind, and the shine of the sun. Of course, her standards tended to decrease dramatically with the seasons, which was why Umi was perfectly content settling for 'vaguely warm', 'not bitingly cold', and 'visible sun' for today.

Winter had definitely descended upon them - the trees, sparse with leaves, were more than enough proof of that - and to just have one day where the temperature was in the double digits was more than enough of a reason for Honoka to drag the trio out in the middle of December for a nice lunch in the school courtyard.

There wasn't a single soul in sight as they sat themselves down on a particularly long bench, the school grounds devoid of the energy it usually possessed. It was easy to see why - Umi shivered slightly as she gently sat down on the frosty metal bench - for being 'a nice day', it sure was still _cold._ She took extra care not to touch any of the bench as she unpacked her lunch.

Beside her, Honoka seemed like she could care less about silly notions like 'cold', tossing the lid to one side as she dove straight in. Beside _her_ , Kotori shifted around, trying to find a comfortable seating position, her cheeks dusted pink from the cold. Poor Kotori - she never _did_ take winter well. Umi hissed as she absent-mindedly lay her hand on the bench.

Whatever. Spending time with her friends was _probably_ worth it.

(Though Umi would later question why they couldn't have spent the time _inside_ … like she would always question whatever crazy plans Honoka would drag them on, which was to say always about half an hour too late.)

Though…there was another explanation for Kotori's (admittedly cute) blush: the exuberant warmth of the ginger next to her, chopsticks holding a chunk of potato up for Kotori to eat.

"Try it, Kotori! It's _really_ good!" Honoka assured. Kotori, after some deliberation, decided to gingerly bite down on the pair of chopsticks. Umi could've _sworn_ her ashen-haired friend was suppressing a grin, with the way her lips were twitching erratically.

"It's… pretty tasty. Did you make this yourself?"

"Sure did!" Honoka beamed, "It's from a recipe I found online! My mom let me…" Umi trailed off as Honoka rattled on (as was the norm), her thoughts returning to the ashen-haired girl on the other side of the bench, and the uncomfortable truth she'd uncovered a while back.

Kotori was _clearly_ in love with Honoka, or at least had feelings for the ginger. It wasn't like her best friend was trying to hide it in the first place; on many an occasion, she would turn around to ask for help or something, only to see her friend _very_ much focusing on the occupant beside her, her languid smile and dreamy eyes suggesting some _very_ vivid fantasies. Umi was honestly pretty surprised none of their classmates ever picked up on it - though, she'd be lying if she said it wasn't a shock when she herself first realised.

It really was more than that, though. She seemed to go out of her way to appease Honoka even more than she usually did, happily agreeing to tag along on any of Honoka's silly whims, resulting in Umi having to follow along too (usually in an exasperated manner). It was even physical, too, for she'd (snarkily) noticed that Kotori would oftentimes hold Honoka's hand whenever they were going out. Honoka, of course, interpreted this in a friendly way - that was to say, in a " _Umi, hold hands with us, too!"_ way - but Umi knew better.

Honoka… probably had feelings for Kotori as well. She wasn't sure; she _couldn't_ be sure, because with Honoka 'personal boundaries' were off the table in the first place, but her ginger friend seemed receptive enough to all the advances, so there was the possibility.

It wasn't like she minded. Oh, far from it, she was perfectly okay (even _happy_ ) to see her best friend going giggly over her other best friend. The only question was how she could help cut through the whole 'awkward' stage before they could hook up, because it was starting to get mildly annoying, really, being stuck in the middle of this couple and constantly feeling like a third wheel.

"Weather sure is nice today, isn't it, Umi?" Honoka's voice cut through her thoughts as the ginger rested her body against the bluenette, much to the latter's embarrassment.

Umi shot her friend an annoyed glare, but relaxed her shoulders anyway, letting Honoka's head cradle against hers, "I know, Honoka," she replied wearily, "it's like the fifth time you've said that today."

"Well, it is!" She defended herself, throwing an arm to the sky, "Look - you can kinda-almost-not-really see the sun."

Umi raised an eyebrow, staring at Honoka.

"It's an improvement over the last two months!" The ginger defended, her baby blue eyes staring straight back.

Umi sighed dramatically, and Honoka got the hint, giving her a quick nuzzle (did Honoka's hair always smell like oranges?) before returning to Kotori. Umi leant the other way, resting herself against a brick wall and trying _not to think_ about (or rather, voraciously savour) the last ten seconds of her life.

 _Okay, so I just need to find some way to get them to confess to each other or something… think, Umi, think. Like, what if I… I… damnit Honoka why can't I think of anything this is all your fault._

"Uh… Umi?" She vaguely heard someone call out to her. Turning to the source, she spotted the worried faces of her friends. Kotori blinked at her. Honoka spoke first.

"...Are you alright?"

 _No, and it's entirely your fault, Honoka._ "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"You were making some very-" Kotori struggled for a word, "unusual noises."

"Oh, uh, sorry." _Unusual noises?_

"No, no! I was just wondering if you'd like to go back. It… _is_ still kinda cold here."

Umi was about to respond in the negative, before her mental faculties caught up with her. DId Kotori just suggest she leave? But she was feeling perfectly fine, and... _Wait, this is perfect!_ She cheered, _I can leave now and then they'll be all alone, and then they can go talk to each other, confess their undying love, then make out, or whatever it is the kids do these days!_ Umi tried her absolute best not to imagine her two best friends going at it, and decided to take the opportunity.

"You know what, Kotori, I think I will." She smiled slightly at Kotori as she packed her lunch up, "You two take your time here, though. There's still twenty minutes until lunch ends, after all!" Umi stood up in (what she hoped was) a casual manner, brushing her skirt off. "Well, I'll be…" Umi giggled, "...somewhere else. Have fun, you two!"

She winked at the ashen-haired girl as she took her leave. _Go for it, Kotori!_

Great, _now_ where was she going to eat lunch?

* * *

Kotori blinked, her mind still spinning slightly as she watched Umi wink at her ( _what?_ ) before practically sprinting away.

"I meant…" she muttered dumbly, though perhaps thirty seconds too late, "that maybe we should _all_ go back."

"Oh." Honoka spoke through a mouthful of food (Kotori was still too dazed to chide her about it.) "Then why didn't you say so, silly?"

"But I-" a slight squeak escaped her mouth, "-nevermind. Do you think we should go join her?"

"Probably?" Honoka shrugged her shoulders, "She didn't tell us where she was going, though."

Kotori bit her lip as she glanced towards the windows, wondering if her friend was okay. Umi _was_ acting pretty weird and distinctly…un-Umi like, because _seriously, what was up with that giggle?_ She silently resolved to ask the bluenette about it later.

Wait, Honoka was _just_ leaning against Umi, wasn't she? It couldn't be about-

"...Do you think we should look for her?" Honoka's voice was tinged with worry, and Kotori cringed internally, hoping she didn't let too much of her own anxiety show on her face. Maybe they should, but on the off chance that Umi really did leave because of _that_...

"No, I think…" Kotori weighed her words, "she needs some time alone, right now. And we should give that to her."

Honoka nodded melancholically, returning to her food. "I just hope nothing's wrong with her…" the ginger sighed, "I almost feel like she's been acting weird towards us lately. I just wish she'd talk to us if something was up, you know?"

 _For being such an airhead,_ Kotori noted, _she sure can read people well_. Or maybe it was just Umi being Umi?

"...What do you think, Kotori?" Honoka's question gave the ashen-haired girl pause.

Was _now_ a good time to bring it up? Well, it wasn't as if it was a secret…at all. If anything, it was that more impressive that Honoka _hadn't_ figured it out yet. Poor, innocent Honoka. And poor Umi, trapped in this whole mess, with no clue as to what to do, pining after her best friend.

Kotori wasn't stupid - she'd seen the signs since November: how Umi's cheeks would always redden slightly whenever Honoka tried to initiate contact; how Umi would always complain about whatever thing Honoka got them to do, but always end up tagging along anyway; but most of all, how Umi's voice would alter, ever so slightly, whenever the subject being brought up - or the subject _herself_ \- was Honoka: a tone of annoyance, reverie, and affection, all rolled up in a way that only Sonoda Umi could manage.

By extension, her class - no, _her year_ \- wasn't stupid, and the topic of Sonoda Umi's and Kousaka Honoka's (potential) love lives was a semi-frequent discussion, fueled occasionally by errant rumors and half-truths.

Of course, there were also the occasional rumors about her and Honoka, or her and Umi, too. She tried extra hard not to dwell on those too much. But that was besides the point - frankly, Kotori found it quite amazing that neither of her best friends had caught on yet.

...but that still left the question: should _she_ \- Minami Kotori, soon-to-be third wheel of the group, be the one to break it to Honoka? She wondered what Umi would think: would the bluenette prefer her help, or did she still want to try and muster the courage to just confess to the ginger?

Kotori would give Umi a bit more time.

"The truth is, Honoka, Umi…" Kotori swallowed. Maybe she should have thought about what to say before opening up with _that_. "...is dealing with something personal right now."

"Well, I know _that!_ " Honoka bit her lip, "I just wish she'd trust us enough to help her."

 _Oh, Honoka, how can you not see?_

"It's something she can't really… get help with." Okay, _that_ was a lie. "Or rather… she doesn't want help with. I think she just needs to spend some time alone right now, to sort out her thoughts. It's kinda hard to explain, I know." Kotori bit the inside of her cheek, averting her gaze, "Sorry."

"Oh…" Honoka turned away as well, fixing her eyes on a stray branch, her lunch all but forgotten. "But… what could she be worried about?"

"If I had to guess," and she really _didn't_ , because this was Sonoda Umi, her best friend of ten years and the ashen-haired girl could _easily_ guess what she was worried about, "I think she thinks… or rather, she's considering the possibility that… something will happen, and we won't be friends anymore."

Kotori jumped as she felt the icy bench shift suddenly under her. "That's ridiculous!" Honoka practically shouted, jumping to her feet (and spilling the remains of her lunch on her shoes), "We're going to go find her, right now!"

"What? But she needs-"

"If she's worrying about something as silly as _that_ ," Honoka puffed, her hands on her hips, "then what _we_ need to do right now is go find her, and assure her that that'll _never_ happen! Silly Umi. What in the world could _possibly_ happen to break us up?"

Kotori giggled. She couldn't help it; the whole thing was just _ridiculous_. It was almost like a bad romance novel: unrequited feelings, awkward moments, the whole shebang. Only this wasn't some cheesy romance novel, and this was real life, without all the stupid drama and tension that inevitably results from miscommunication, and _Honoka was_ _right_ , and Kotori should've known that.

Honoka's eyes shone with determination. "C'mon, Kotori, let's go get Umi."

Blue eyes met amber, and Kotori stood up, nodding. "She's probably on the roof. We should check there first. But before that…" she pointed at Honoka's feet, "you may want to clean _that_ up."

Kotori watched amusedly as Honoka's determination scrambled into panic as the ginger picked bits of food off her shoes, wondering what this feeling - this unease, this nervousness - worming its way into her heart was. She took a few deep breaths, banishing lost-forgotten fantasies and images back into the depths of her mind.

"Hey, Honoka…"

"Wait just a second-" Honoka stood up, her shoes distinctly potato-free, "Yes?"

"You really meant it, didn't you?" Kotori asked, though she knew the answer already. Maybe she really just wanted to hear it from Honoka one more time? "When you said we'd always be best friends… no matter what?"

"No matter what." Honoka replied, and her voice was so full of conviction that Kotori couldn't help but completely believe her, the unease in her heart dissipating ever so slightly.

"Then…" Kotori smiled at no one in particular, "Let's go find Umi, and lecture the crap out of her!"

Honoka's bright grin was the last thing she saw before she felt herself being dragged into the school building, scouring the halls of Otonokizaka for the last member of their inseparable trio.

 _You have nothing to worry about, Umi._

* * *

 **OT3ed. Yep, I got into Love Live!, so expect at least a couple fics on it.  
This is semi-dedicated to Major Mike Powell III, whose stories are really what got me into this ship (fleet?) in the first place. If he's even reading this.**


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